Linux Gains Native RTOS Emulation Layer

nerdyH writes to tell us that the Xenomai/SOLO project is attempting to deliver VxWorks and other RTOS emulation for any Linux kernel. "Some weeks ago, I started laying the groundwork for porting the Xenomai emulators natively over the PREEMPT_RT kernel. Unlike the co-kernel based Xenomai version, SOLO does not require any kernel support from additional modules or patches. It is fully based on the standard POSIX library, and runs as a regular process controlled by a single image Linux kernel. As a first step, a VxWorks emulator has just been rebuilt over this new framework."

Re:Realtime, VxWorks, Dolla Dolla Bill Yall

[faragon]

VxWorks is the only OS I've played with so far that allows this (...)

May be you need to play more :-) . LynxOS [wikipedia.org] is a full-fledged POSIX RTOS, with memory protection, far better than VxWorks if disk and network is involved (I was developing toll systems real time applications for 4 years). I hope someday Linux reach RTOS habilities without having to use "cokernels", as although I'm pretty happy with current kernel preemptiveness, I would love to get true RTOS Linux (echo 1 > /proc/rtos).

Re:Realtime, VxWorks, Dolla Dolla Bill Yall

[Epistax]

I haven't had any experience with other systems yet really. VxWorks did add an abstraction layer for hardware drivers called "VxBus". So far the only advantage I've found is that.. Okay well I haven't found one but I did eventually get it to work. The advantage is they didn't break everything when they introduced it.

I don't understand why WindRiver hates documentation to much. They actually have a policy of not sending hard copies of their manuals anymore. Their man pages are kind of half-assed. I usually have to go straight to the kernel source tree to figure out what a function really does. I really must still state, it's a real pain to use, but their stuff DOES work. Once you get it set up right, I've found 99.99% of what goes wrong is application code's fault.

I've learned that if it takes more than a day to figure out how a specific something works, I pass it along as a service request to them. It's not my fault if the didn't document well enough!

Re:POS needs realtime? hahahahhaha

[richpm]

"Why not just get a faster computer," Power consumption? Heat? Noise levels? Size? "... because if they had a clue, they would leverage Eclipse ..." I guess they've got a clue then, they've been shipping an Eclipse based IDE for 2+ years now and Wind River are /very/ active in the development of CDT. In fact the CDT project lead works for them now. Admittedly they do some stuff in a slightly non-standard way (e.g. not the way vanilla CDT does it) but that's with good reason and allows them a far more flexible build system than the standard CDT project model allows.

Re:A quick search reveals

[ozmanjusri]

Thanks for the spam sunshine.

How 'bout you reformat and reinstall so the rest of us don't pay for your "everything appears fine." system?

Re:A quick search reveals

[Teun]

Hehe, I see it the other way around.
I don't like having to fend off thousands of malwares with an OS that implemented networking as an afterthought.

Re:Oh dear god no!

[malevolentjelly]

Linux is not realtime. "Realtime linux" is a non-linux realtime OS with a non-realtime linux compatibility layer... emulating a REAL RTOS?... Why would you emulate a realtime system in a non-realtime system? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a realtime OS?

Do you have any idea why people use realtime systems?

With VxWorks you pay license fees... FOR A REALTIME SYSTEM. You're also able to do a lot more with a lot less resources. In the embedded world, less is more! You save millions cutting kb's (or mb's) of ram out of hardware. And this emulation layer saves what, some programmer a week or two tops porting one POSIX-compliant VxWorks application to a semi-POSIX compliant linux device. The licensing fees don't seem so bad when you think about the extra hardware necessary to use a make-believe-realtime OS like "realtime" linux.

I've got a better idea- use a real, tried, trusted RTOS and simply use an emulated UNIX layer if you need that sort of support (most decent RTOS support this). This pairing of linux and Xenomai's RTOS just sounds awkward. Software costs are just miniscule compared with the cost of making a bulky device with hardware that outclasses its functionality.